Tales Of The Universe Vol 1 Issue 1
The High School Hero Inside one of the many beat down and crusty old houses of Los Angeles, California five teenage friends find themselves in a heated argument about something they had been doing for the past few months. “Come on you guys! How can we even be debating this here!? We have been doing this for months and look at all the people we have helped!” Nathan yells out as he tries to convince his friends into going out on patrol. It’s a Friday night and all the kids are ready to party; all but Nathan. See he is a seventeen year old kid in his junior year of high school. Hasn’t had a girlfriend in his entire life. His whole life revolves around his two favorite heroes, The Web Strider and The Red Dawn. No kid has wanted to be part of Heroes Inc. like this kid here. Currently he is wearing his own “Superhero” outfit. solo image 1.jpg He forged the suit himself. Using whatever allowance he could to buy himself the fabric to design his own “super suit.” He likes to tell people he is The Emerald Fighter. His suit is green and black, with a logo he designed on the center of his chest. He has short spikey black hair and a mechanical green mask to keep his identity hidden from the gangs and cops of this city. Los Angeles and New California for that matter really don’t have heroes to call their own, so Nathan wants to fill that spot. If you didn’t know him as the guy who dresses up in spandex on his free time, you would think he is a rather attractive young male. He is almost six feet tall and very muscular for his size. This is because he works out on the regular to try and give himself what he likes to call the superhero body. Nathan doesn’t have a father at home so the closest thing he has to male leadership is the characters from the comics he reads. For the last few months, he and this group of friends has been dressing up and helping around the city of Los Angeles from small crimes like liquor store hold ups and people being jumped in alley ways. Everything seemed to be going great until they stopped a situation between two rival gangs. Here in Los Angeles, the Bloods and Crips have been running everything on the streets for many years. And with this group stopping one of the crips from getting jumped by a group of bloods, they have been receiving death threats on the walls throughout Los Angeles. Warnings in the form of graffiti that if they are seen, they will get put six feet down fill the streets. One of his friends speaks up and says, “Look, Nate…We all had fun doing this. But it’s not worth dying over, man. These threats are serious!” The others in the group slowly nod their heads in agreement. This had begun as something to be fun for them to do, maybe help the city a bit. But they never thought something like this would get to this level. They will be hunted like dogs in the street if they go out there tonight. The fear had been obvious. Nathan has it too. He can feel it growing on the back of his neck. But then he thinks to himself. “If this was Red Dawn…Or Web Strider…Would they give up!? NO!...They would push on…They would accept this challenge and win.” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ki10zh3gNFc ) Nathan stands firmly in front of his friends, feeling the pressure of what he is about to say building up inside of him. Yes he is afraid and yes he is nervous, but there is one thing that he knows is certain. That a true hero who is dedicated to making life and the people around him better and safe. That there is always something bigger than him to fight for. Something will always push against him, but he is not the kind of person to lay back and let life roll over him. His eyes stare up at his friends, a fire burning inside of him. “If you guys want to back out…then fine…I won’t quit. Kasaihana had its saviors and now Los Angeles needs theirs.” His hands curl up into fists as he speaks. “I won’t stop you…But you all won’t stop me either.” His friends look at him with expressions of sadness, knowing that they won’t be able to put a stop to Nathan’s pipe dream. They hang their heads after a few seconds of silence. They begin to gather their belongings and make their way towards the door of his house. The friends all give their goodbyes and wish him luck, praying that he will be safe out there. If the threat risk wasn’t high already; going out alone only makes it seem near certain death. After all of his friends leave the house, Nathan is left with nothing but his own silence as he mentally prepares himself to go out into the night alone. For the first time since he put on the mask, he has no backup. Everything that happens from this point on is now up to him and only him. There is no one else to blame if something goes wrong. A small smile appears on his face as he thinks about everything that can happen. Because he also begins to think about what the success of tonight could lead to. It could lead to the dream he so desperately wishes to achieve. He can see it now. His name up in lights as the new hero of Los Angeles and even working alongside his heroes, Red Dawn and Web Strider. “Hell yes…It’s time to go to work…” The Hero That Los Angeles Needs (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFFFwJ_DNFA ) It doesn’t take long for Nathan to come out of his house and onto the streets of Los Angeles. The smell of weed fills the night air. The area that Nathan lives in isn’t exactly something nice and proud to be from. But Nathan takes it in stride and happily makes the best of his life situation. Walking down the street many people look at him like he is some crazy nut-job. Nathan skips to the beat of his own tune, keeping his eyes open and vigilante for anything out of the ordinary. He can hear some of the people commenting on his appearance and it only brings a smile to his face. Because whether they hate him or love him, he is on their minds right now. And it will surely be something they tweet about. But what he doesn’t see is what someone is doing on their phone. Taking a picture of him and sending it to some very bad people in this neighborhood. He continues to move through the streets, nothing really popping off. But then he passes an alleyway and hears the screams of a girl begging for help. He turns and sees three men trying to rip the clothes off of this girl. He recognizes these guys. Three guys who go to his high school, nothing but punks who can’t get any girls on their own. Knowing that these guys aren’t really about anything serious, Nathan begins to make his way over to them. His walk is confident and slow as if he already knows he has won this fight. As he comes closer, the screams become louder and even she catches a glimpse of him. She whispers, “Oh thank, God.” This alerts the three men that Nathan is behind them. The three men quickly react, two of them pulling away from the girl. Her shirt ripped off, only leaving her bra to cover her breasts. Her skirt is practically hanging on by a thread while the guy keeps her down on the ground. The two men charge at him and Nathan quickly runs full speed at the two of them. The attackers both swing widely and this allows Nathan to slide underneath their arms while extending his arms out to smash his fists into their kneecaps. Because of his use of learning about the human body and watching too many Bruce Lee movies, the two men topple over one another while falling to the ground. Nathan aimed to smash their knee caps in and render them immobile for the fight. As Nathan springs himself up, he swings his right leg around and cracks the third male right in the jaw. His head swings to the right and splatters blood all over the girl’s chest. Two of his teeth pop out and dribble down onto the ground as well. Nathan stands over the three of them as two writhe in pain and the other is out cold. The girl quickly stands up and even kicks the guy who is unconscious while yelling at them for what they tried to do. Nathan puts on the superhero expression and begins to say, “You are safe now, Miss. The Emer-MMF!” Before he could finish, the girl grabs him by the back of the neck and pulls him in for a very passionate kiss. Her arms wrap around his large frame while his hands clasp one another behind the small of her back. solo image 2.jpg Nathan just goes with it as the two make out with each other while the guys are just lying there on the ground. After about a minute passes, she slowly pulls her lips away from his. His head slowly moves forward, clearly showing how eager he is to actually keep going. It’s not everyday someone like him gets to make out with a super gorgeous girl like this one. She slips out a piece of paper and writes her number down on it. She then presses her fingers up against his chest with the paper in between her fingers. “Call me.” She says. Nathan slowly takes the paper from her as she begins to walk away. His expression giving off shock as he can’t believe how well this night is ending up. He may have lost his partners but he is really loving the solo act as it is right now. But all of that is about to change. As he turns around to face the two boys who are on the floor, he sees a large shadowy figure block the light from the street. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QV5ZBuNJMx0 ) His eyes look up to see a group of African American males in front of him. All of their clothes model the color red, symbolizing what set they are from. And in seeing this, Nathan begins to sweat. His body still like a statue unable to move as the men begin to walk closer to him. Then one of the men walks out in front of the others. This man skinny and covered in tattoos looks at Nathan up and down with a judgmental expression on his face. “So what’s up with that green shit, mothafucka? Huh? Tryin to come up on the set or what?” His voice filled with malice as he confronts a solo Nathan. But all Nathan can do is think about what his heroes would do. And with that, he stands his ground once again. “I’m stopping thugs like you from ruining this city more than you already have…” The men all begin to laugh, none of them taking Nathan seriously. And they shouldn’t. Nathan is just a boy with a dream too big for him to understand. He isn’t some kind of super soldier or genetic experiment. He is just a human who has the heart of a warrior but the skin of a human. He can’t survive a wall of bullets or even begin to dream of fighting Gods. The thug in the center waves his left hand over to Nathan as if he weren’t even worth his time. “Ice this fucking kid so we can go home…Send a message to all these other would be fucking heroes who these streets really belong too. I’d tired of these fucking masks…” And with that order, the man walks behind the wall of his gang members. They all pull out weapons, pistols and even some of them have Mac-10’s. solo image 3.jpg And it was at that moment, Nathan knew he had fucked up. Over ten barrels of guns rise up to aim right for him. And without any hesitation, the gang begins to unload on him. One by one bullets begin to pierce into his skin and out the other side of his body. Blood splatters out of his body like a water balloon the more he is struck with bullets. His body begins to stagger back a few feet, barely able to stand out of reflex and willpower to not go down. Blood flows out from his mouth and his eyes quickly glaze over, losing color. One of the bullets clips the top right corner of his mask, knocking it off of his face and onto the ground. His lungs quickly fill with blood and his throat clogged by the blood from his body. He is unable to even scream because of what is happening to him. It doesn’t take long before the men use up all their ammo unloading into just one teenage kid. Nathan’s body finally falls to the ground, his back smashing into the pavement with blood oozing out of him. Laying in a puddle of his own blood, Nathan begins to choke on his own blood. Giving everything he can to try and breath, he only quickens the effects of what is happening to him. Finally, Nathan slowly begins to close his eyes just to try and hide away the sight of blood coming out of his own body. solo image 4.jpg The gang members all laugh to themselves before turning away and walking back out of the alleyway. Civilians who look at the scene that played out can only remain quiet, hoping to not get shot themselves. This unfortunately had become something this city is used to seeing. To live and to die in LA. The New Light Of Hope (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joQWMecJmDk ) It had seemed that the local hero had met his end at the hands of a local gang. But something had been different about this. Nathan is still here. Nathan slowly opens his eyes once again and is caught in a world is had never seen before. A place in space that he could have never even began to imagine. Nothing but stars and the black void of space surround him. Out in the distance he sees a bright white cloud covered around what look like small stars surrounding it. Nathan looks at himself and sees no bullet holes, but rather his old super suit repaired. The green and black shine brightly as the cloud begins to come closer and closer to him. His body is practically floating in this space, his mind flabbergasted at the sight all around him. Finally, the cloud begins to open up and reveal what is inside. It reveals that it is actually, a man! A man well over six feet three inches tall and very muscular appears from the cloud. He has long dark black hair with a black beard around him. But what stands out the most to Nathan is the fact that he is wearing a very similar suit design to his own Emerald Fighter outfit. It practically matched him equally, right down to the mask. The only difference being that his is all white. solo image 5.jpg “W-….Who are you?” Nathan asks as his voice cracks with nervousness. The man walks closer to Nathan until he is standing directly in front of him. If either of them reached out, they would be able to place a hand on one another. Nathan looks at this man astonished and confused. It is like looking into what Nathan’s future is like. Could this be his father? The mysterious man looks down at Nathan with a smile on his face. “It’s been a long time…since I’ve seen what I looked like in that raggedy old thing…” The man finally speaks. His voice deep and powerful, almost as if he were multiple voices in one person. “Y-y-y-you…A-are….m-m-me?” The mysterious man nods slowly before speaking, “I am one version of you…Nathan Elliot…I come from a world not too much different than your own. And I have traveled here to deliver something very important to you…” Nathan can’t even begin to fathom the depth of what is happening at this moment in time. All he can do is listen to what his future self is about to tell him. What could be so important that someone would travel to a different universe? “Your universe is coming to a turning point…A time where there is a dark evil growing…An evil that unless stopped…will destroy everything our world holds dear and cherishes….” “What makes you think I can stop some major evil that threatens the universe?...I couldn’t even stop a gang?” Future Nathan laughs a bit before saying in a calm voice, “You have a gift, Nathan…A gift you and I both share. But for you, that gift doesn’t come until it is already too late….I couldn’t awake the power deep inside of us until everything had been lost…My world…is gone…But it isn’t too late for yours.” “Gift?” Is all Nathan can ask as he wonders what his future self means by that. “There will come a time…sooner than later when this evil will surface…Not many will see the face that lies behind the mask…But you have too. You have to figure this out. Save your universe, Nathan…Don’t let what happened to my world share the same fate with yours…” After that is said, Future Nathan begins to slowly float back a few feet. His body begins to release a bright white glow that begins to blind Nathan. The young boy lifts his arm up to try and cover the light but all he can see is the light being released out from his future self’s body. solo image 6.jpg “You can do all things, Nathan…Power that is only limited to your imagination…Trust in the Light…Trust in your emotions…” His voice filled with a god like rhythm as he speaks. “Master the power of the Emotional Spectrum…And see your world saved…” Young Nathan tries to move forward to see his future self, but the power being released from his body begins to surround him like a vortex. The green and black colors of his suit begin to phase away into a bright white color! Nathan looks down to see his uniform changing. “What is happening!?” He yells out, confused and afraid of what is going on. By the time he looks up, he sees his future self. But all that is left of him now is pure energy and the skeleton of his body. Energy radiates out of the skeleton, releasing a blinding crystalline light. Nathan doesn’t know why, but he can feel his emotions overpowering him. Even though he just met this man, and even if he doesn’t fully understand what is happening; he cares. Watching his future fade away from existence, all he can do is shed a tear wondering what this all means. solo image 7.jpg “Follow the Light, Nathan…Embrace it. Let it empower your soul.” It only takes a few more seconds before Future Nathan’s body erupts in a powerful burst of white light. Like a supernova exploding in space, young Nathan is pushed back from the burst of energy like a piece of paper in the wind. When he finally gathers himself, floating in space, he looks up to see multi-colored entities bursting out from where the epicenter of the explosion took place! God like entities constructed purely off light and emotion begin to flow out from Future Nathan’s energy and begin to swirl around Young Nathan as if they are attracted to him. solo image 8.jpg Without any reasoning as to how, Nathan can hear the voices of these entities inside of his head. His eyes stare up at these beings in awe as he learns what they are. “it’s….It’s beautiful.” He says as he takes it all in. The beings all gather in front of Nathan, staring at him, silently judging him. The entities wonder if this Nathan Elliot can be enough to control the power that resides in all of them. A few seconds pass before the beings all begin to spin around and concentrate their energies into a spiral shape. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Es9Fk6v5n-0 ) Nathan is forced to watch as these beings all begin to take the form of rings, concentrating all their power and energy into these objects. Once their process is complete, each ring begins to circle around him and he tries to keep up with their movements with his eyes. solo image 9.jpg Finally, one by one the entities begin to place their rings on his fingers. Within the blink of an eye, seven rings begin to connect and bind themselves to Nathan’s body! All at once, Nathan begins to feel the surge of power inside of him that it instantly overwhelms him! “GYAAAAAHHHH!!!!” He screams out as a bright orange substance begins to squirt out from his mouth. The power of the rings begin to re-shape and re-mold the essence of his whole being. His black and green suit becomes white! His suit begins to form a bright white armor around the suit, even having his mask extend down to his jaw line. His eyes glow with a bright blue power and symbols of each entity that is inside of him begins to appear on his body! But with all this power, his body is not used to that kind of strain. He practically falls to his knees as the pain of everything feels like his insides are being burnt alive. solo image 10.jpg “I….I can’t do this….It’s…It’s WAY TO MUCH!” He thinks to himself. But then he hears it. The voices of the heroes in the back of his mind. This is it. This is his chance to prove to everyone who doubted that he indeed has what it takes to become the hero he knows he can be. He can’t give up now! Not when he is so close! This is what his whole life had been living up towards. Future Nathan sacrificed his life to come here in hopes that this Nathan could master what he couldn’t and save the universe. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2gROOXwrCI ) “Fine….” Nathan says to himself as he forces his body to stand up from his weakened position. “I can’t…I won’t call it quits here…Pain…It’s nothing!...I can take it…” Flares of emotional energy begin to burst all around him as he tries to harness the power that had been bestowed upon him. That is when Nathan thrusts himself up, lifting his arms up and balling his hands into fists. With all of the energy burning inside of him, Nathan lifts his head up towards the heavens and releases a power yell. “RRRUUUAAAGHHHHH!!!!!!” And as that happens, his eyes burst out a bright and colorful mixture of emotional energy. His mouth releases the energy like a bright flame and the rings all begin to burst out with lightning bolts of energy in their respective colors. solo image 11.jpg Grabbing a hold of the energy inside of him, Nathan then thrusts his fists forward and grips his fists so tight that his fingers begin to dig into the skin of his palms. Each ring stands out with its own color and symbol on his fingers. Nathan’s face grits with anger and focus with his eyes are still covered in a bright blue glow. Around his body, the light streams continue to erupt out of him, becoming more fluid and unison to his body. solo image 12.jpg “I will master this power…I will save my world…I will become the hero I know this world needs…There will be no place for darkness to hide. For my light will shine upon every last hole evil can hide in!” His armor begins to phase back into the sleek normal suit that he wore before being brought here by his future self. His suit still donning the color of white as he has transformed into something entirely different than The Emerald Fighter. It takes a few minutes before the energy calms itself down and Nathan is able to harness everything completely. His mask slowly returns back to its normal standing and the symbols of each entity begin to fade. And then it happens. One symbol appears over the left chest portion of his body. The symbol of the combined powers between the emotional spectrum. The rings all disappear from his hands and he slowly opens up his left hand, but leaving his right hand in a fist. His chest lifts up and down, tired from trying to harness the power that is now within him. He looks down at his right hand before finally lifting it up to see what is inside. As he opens his hand, it reveals the White Ring that all the rings had combined to create. The ring itself releases a bright white smoke after being forged inside of Nathan’s hand. solo image 13.jpg “It’s time to return back to Earth…” Placing the ring on his right hand middle finger, Nathan slowly turns around to face the direction that planet Earth is in. His body then pushes forward and begins to move at light speed through space. Nathan now understands what he must do. He knows what he has to find. And he knows just who to talk too. solo image 14.png Category:Ark 25 Category:Tales Of The Universe